Children’s Day in Nigeria

May 27 is Children’s Day in Nigeria. It was created in 1964, inspired by the United Nations children’s efforts, and it’s a school holiday for children in Nigeria.

Nigeria holds many challenges for children. According to the CIA Fact Book, 42 percent of Nigeria’s more than 138 million residents are children. Seventy percent of them live below the poverty line, despite Nigeria being one of the world’s leading oil producers. Nigeria also has a very high infant mortality rate–93.93 per 1000 births. (This compares to 6.3/1000 in the United States.) The nation is also plagued by rampant HIV/AIDS infections and drug trafficking.

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